21 July 2006

As part of the follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society WSIS), several development organizations met recently to discuss what should be done about e-agriculture. The 12 June meeting was hosted by FAO and formed part of the follow-up process to the World Summit at which FAO was appointed as focal point and facilitator for the action line on e-agriculture.

Participants in the meeting will be actively working to establish mechanisms to engage all global stakeholders to generate a better understanding of e-agriculture. Activities will comprise virtual forums, including email and web based discussions. A key exercise will be the collection of case studies and best practices in e-agriculture, and making them easily accessible to all. The primary focus in this first phase is to exchange views and share effective practices and resources at regional and international levels.

Participants will enrich the definition of e-agriculture and propose areas of focus which will then be debated virtually and be brought to the attention of the WSIS global platform. Suggested areas of discussion could include the development of policies, guidelines, strategies and priorities for successfully developing e-agriculture as well as fostering partnerships and funding mechanisms.